Waterlooville author raises thousands as he takes on 1,000-mile cycle to honour three 'wonderful women' cared for by Rowans Hospice

Eugene Scardifield has already raised £2,800 as he prepares for an 1,000-mile bike ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats over 13 days in the memory of three friends’ mums cared for by Rowans Hospice.

The cycle, from July 31 to August 12, has seen a huge outpouring of support from the community, already raising £2,800 and with six weeks still to go Eugene has set a target of £5000.

Eugene, from Waterlooville, grew up on Hayling Island with three friends who lived on the same estate, who’s mums have all passed away from cancer.

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Eugene said: ‘Unfortunately all of their mums lost their battles with cancer, but they all received really great care from Rowans.

‘I wanted to do something in their memory, but at the same time raise funds for Rowans Hospice.’

The 43-year-old author is well acquainted with testing his limits, having previously completed a 226-mile bike ride and raising over £11,000 for Samm (Support after Murder or Manslaughter) after his brother, Michael Scardifield, was murdered in 2015.

He said: ‘When you have a loved one pass away, one of your biggest fears is them being forgotten so doing this sort of thing keeps their memory alive.

‘They were all wonderful women who had a impact on my life growing up, that’s for sure.’

Each day of the cycle will be sponsored by 13 different local businesses, including three of the days dedicated to each of the three women and a business close to them and their family, Gloria Holden, Lesley March and Venita Balls.

The businesses sponsoring Eugene on his ride include Bubbles Caravan Cleaning Services, Physio-logical, Craig Ball Art, Southsea Cycles and many more.

As part of his training, Eugene recently completed a 93 mile cycle to all 17 Rowans Hospice shops in Portsmouth.

He said: ‘I feel like I’m getting fitter and stronger with every ride, there’s an obvious amount of nerves because I don’t want to let anyone down, but there’s also excitement.

‘It’s a big challenge to take on, I’ll be pleased to complete it and raise a good amount of money.’

Carol Milner, director of income generation and people services at Rowans Hospice Charity said: ‘We are delighted and so grateful to Eugene for his support of the Rowans Hospice Charity in his quest to generate much needed income for local hospice care and to help raise awareness of the charity’s services.

‘We look forward to tracking Eugene’s journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats and would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has kindly donated to Eugene’s fundraising page, as well as the local businesses who have sponsored his challenge. Rowans Hospice Charity is renowned for providing high quality palliative and specialist end of life care from the moment of diagnosis through to bereavement support, all care is given without charge and it is thanks to the support of people like Eugene that the charity can continue to provide the much needed care for all those in our community who are affected by life-limiting illness.’

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/eugene-scardifield2.